Final Fantasy XIV (PC): Leveling, leveling, leveling! Well, and main quests.
But hey, I unlocked Dragoon and Tarina unlocked Scholar!
The game is growing on me more as I get used to the idea that it's simply going to play rather archaically. That doesn't excuse it playing like an MMO from a decade and change ago, but the initial shock is gone.
Tarina changed Tarryn into a Hyur female, and will eventually turn her into Tamberly. While Cinnaris and Tamberly are the traditional traveling buddies, it's still a bit of a bummer.
Oh, and I did find all of my 1.0 holiday stuff! The game (and myself) had both forgotten that I had a second retainer, "Lamianumbertwo". I hired a new one, named her Cleary ("Clearite" was taken), and voila, all my old stuff! Hooray!
Minor Entries: Sword of Chaos (iOS).
Sunday, May 20, 2018
Thursday, May 17, 2018
May 17, 2018
Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn (PC): We didn't play as much today since Tarina and Kenna were out at her cheer practice. But that's all right! A little progress. Slowly but surely (and I mean slowly, since it's FFXIV!).
Super Mario All-Stars + World (SNES): I played through like... a stage. Too bad it doesn't save everywhere, so I lost that progress!
Minor Entries: Black Desert Online, Sword of Chaos (iOS).
Super Mario All-Stars + World (SNES): I played through like... a stage. Too bad it doesn't save everywhere, so I lost that progress!
Minor Entries: Black Desert Online, Sword of Chaos (iOS).
Wednesday, May 16, 2018
May 16, 2018
Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn (PC): We continued with the main questline, duoing a couple of lowbie dungeons we needed to get through. No help from Duty Finder today!
Alas, it was a shorter day of gaming than I would have liked!
Minor Entries: Black Desert Online, Sword of Chaos (iOS).
Alas, it was a shorter day of gaming than I would have liked!
Minor Entries: Black Desert Online, Sword of Chaos (iOS).
Tuesday, May 15, 2018
May 15, 2018
Final Fantasy XIV: I had a ton of catch-up to do on FFXIV. Tarina had apparently pushed ahead of me in it during our original go at A Realm Reborn, so I had to repeat quests I just did the previous day on Azureus to catch up and get together on the main quests.
And, because I have priorities, I found our old FFXIV friends, the poachers!
Minor Entries: Black Desert Online (PC), Sword of Chaos (iOS).
And, because I have priorities, I found our old FFXIV friends, the poachers!
Minor Entries: Black Desert Online (PC), Sword of Chaos (iOS).
Monday, May 14, 2018
May 14, 2018
Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn (PC): We continued forth! Azureus and Trisse pushed onward into the mid-teens, and then, somewhere in the evening, we decided to go ahead and pay our discounted Legacy price ($10) to restart our main accounts. Heheh. Foresight!
We did do some dungeon runs and such on Azureus and Trisse, and it was fun enough. The problem we kept having was having to break the party apart to do solo ventures, then find someone to rejoin us afterward. Seriously, we can't remain in a party during certain parts of our quests? Make us solo it, fine, but why split the party up? Just another instance of archaic design.
That being said, it was rather nice and nostalgic to bring back Cinnaris and Tarryn. We have a lot of fun old items, and apparently a Fat Chocobo mount was retroactively added!
Gargoyle's Quest 2 (SNES): I gave it a good go this time, pushing up to the first save--er, password--point. It's just as fun as I recall the first game being, but with the added bonus of being more colorful, with a wider and taller image! Much less cramped.
Super Mario All-Stars + World (SNES): World again! I started the saves fresh and pushed through the first world. Such good times.
Minor Entries: Black Desert Online (PC), Sword of Chaos (iOS).
We did do some dungeon runs and such on Azureus and Trisse, and it was fun enough. The problem we kept having was having to break the party apart to do solo ventures, then find someone to rejoin us afterward. Seriously, we can't remain in a party during certain parts of our quests? Make us solo it, fine, but why split the party up? Just another instance of archaic design.
That being said, it was rather nice and nostalgic to bring back Cinnaris and Tarryn. We have a lot of fun old items, and apparently a Fat Chocobo mount was retroactively added!
Gargoyle's Quest 2 (SNES): I gave it a good go this time, pushing up to the first save--er, password--point. It's just as fun as I recall the first game being, but with the added bonus of being more colorful, with a wider and taller image! Much less cramped.
Super Mario All-Stars + World (SNES): World again! I started the saves fresh and pushed through the first world. Such good times.
Minor Entries: Black Desert Online (PC), Sword of Chaos (iOS).
Sunday, May 13, 2018
May 13, 2018
Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn (PC): We set up Trial accounts on FFXIV (since we can't play to 35 on existing accounts--get with the times, SE!) and played for a bit. I made Azureus Allegretto and Tarina went with Trisse, and we went with Archer and Conjurer, respectively. I think we made it to about L15 each.
Unfortunately, it's just an archaic-feeling MMO in terms of gameplay and UI (objectively--whether you like it or not is where the opinion part comes in), even for the time it released. I could go on for a while, but eh.
It is fun enough, as is any decent MMO!
And not being able to party in Trial is absurd. I know they want you to buy the full game, but the best way to hook people is to get them into the community. The Trial does not allow that.
Even so, we may or may not reup our main accounts in the near future--ditto for picking up the expansions. And we might not--we both want Pillars of Eternity 2, and Battle for Azeroth is a must in a couple of months.
Minor Entries: Sword of Chaos (iOS).
Unfortunately, it's just an archaic-feeling MMO in terms of gameplay and UI (objectively--whether you like it or not is where the opinion part comes in), even for the time it released. I could go on for a while, but eh.
It is fun enough, as is any decent MMO!
And not being able to party in Trial is absurd. I know they want you to buy the full game, but the best way to hook people is to get them into the community. The Trial does not allow that.
Even so, we may or may not reup our main accounts in the near future--ditto for picking up the expansions. And we might not--we both want Pillars of Eternity 2, and Battle for Azeroth is a must in a couple of months.
Minor Entries: Sword of Chaos (iOS).
Saturday, May 12, 2018
May 12, 2018
Black Desert Online (PC): Did some leveling on my Hunter alt, Obme (I haven't forgotten you, Phantasy Star Universe!) with an Army buddy. Fun enough stuff, and easy leveling!
Minor Entries: Sword of Chaos (iOS).
Minor Entries: Sword of Chaos (iOS).
Friday, May 11, 2018
May 11, 2018
Kendo Rage (SNES): No clue why I purchased this one, but I think it came from eBay a few years ago. It seems like a simple, easy enough platformer, and heavily based on the Magical Girl-style cartoons from the 80s and 90s.
The main character has a decent variety of attacks. The longer you wait between attacks, the more powerful of an attack will be released. It's an interesting mechanic.
I beat the first level and called it a day!
Link to the Past, The (SNES): I made it through the sewer dungeon to emerge on the other side, bringing me, presumably, to the point where the game opens up like an older Zelda game!
I tried using the default controllers that came with the Retro Duo v2.0 Limited Edition. They look like SNES controllers, but they sure don't feel like it! The entire directional pad feels like it sinks in, making it hard to slide over and change movements. Ideally, a d-pad should sort of dip in the direction that's being pushed.
Thankfully, the Retro-Bit Super Retro controllers seem to work quite well! I'll have to dig out a real SNES controller or two to compare for sure.
Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World (SNES): Went through the menus deleting saves, then poked at Super Mario World and Mario 3 for a couple of minutes. I'm at the point where I'm still just tickled seeing them up on my screen again, on an actual console, and in a comfy, quiet room that feels very 80s!
Minor Entries: Sword of Chaos (iOS).
The main character has a decent variety of attacks. The longer you wait between attacks, the more powerful of an attack will be released. It's an interesting mechanic.
I beat the first level and called it a day!
Link to the Past, The (SNES): I made it through the sewer dungeon to emerge on the other side, bringing me, presumably, to the point where the game opens up like an older Zelda game!
I tried using the default controllers that came with the Retro Duo v2.0 Limited Edition. They look like SNES controllers, but they sure don't feel like it! The entire directional pad feels like it sinks in, making it hard to slide over and change movements. Ideally, a d-pad should sort of dip in the direction that's being pushed.
Thankfully, the Retro-Bit Super Retro controllers seem to work quite well! I'll have to dig out a real SNES controller or two to compare for sure.
Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World (SNES): Went through the menus deleting saves, then poked at Super Mario World and Mario 3 for a couple of minutes. I'm at the point where I'm still just tickled seeing them up on my screen again, on an actual console, and in a comfy, quiet room that feels very 80s!
Minor Entries: Sword of Chaos (iOS).
Thursday, May 10, 2018
May 10, 2018
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning (PC): I managed to get my furthest-along save working! I had to go back into my current save, max out the saves, and then copy and replace. I'm assuming it has something to do with the way saves are tracked by your actual profile.
I played a bit, starting Teeth of Naros, but I have been unable to save Sveri Brond thus far, even with the aid of the new Cheat Menu unlock. Oh, I know, "You can't!" But I've managed to save others before, and I'll do it again! For example, there are a trio of pirates up in Gallows End who are supposed to be killed by their boss as a sacrifice, but I managed to save them all and still defeat their boss--and this was prior to the Cheat Menu unlock being released!
Minor Entries: Black Desert Online (PC), Fist Puncher (PC), Sword of Chaos (iOS).
I played a bit, starting Teeth of Naros, but I have been unable to save Sveri Brond thus far, even with the aid of the new Cheat Menu unlock. Oh, I know, "You can't!" But I've managed to save others before, and I'll do it again! For example, there are a trio of pirates up in Gallows End who are supposed to be killed by their boss as a sacrifice, but I managed to save them all and still defeat their boss--and this was prior to the Cheat Menu unlock being released!
Minor Entries: Black Desert Online (PC), Fist Puncher (PC), Sword of Chaos (iOS).
Wednesday, May 9, 2018
May 9, 2018
Lots today! Well, more like a few games in a short period. But still!
Battletoads in Battlemaniacs: The graphics are great, but the game is a little difficult. I lost a few lives from running off edges or not pulling off jumps, and I'm not sure if that's a result of slidly controls or my RetroBit controller itself being a little sensitive.
Still, fantastic graphics and a classic SNES sound! I played up to the second level--surprise, a vertical shaft!--and then called it quits, moving on to Illusion of Gaia.
Link to the Past, The (SNES): You know, I don't think I've ever seriously played this game to any real extent. That changed today! I deleted the saves of poor David and Levi (the previous owners of the copy, I assume), where David had not one but TWO completed saves, saved right before the boss. At some point, he loved this game! I wonder where he is now? Was Levi his little brother, or a friend?
Anyway, it starts off rather intense for a Zelda game. Well, for an early one, at least: you gotta remember, my only significant Zelda experiences are LoZ, The Adventure of Link, Link's Awakening, and the later Orcales games! It's a dark and storm night, and some guy (your caretaker? Dad?) marches off with his sword and shield.
You find him in the dungeon, and from there you do some typical Link stuff with swords and boomerangs, till you rescue the princess and escape from the dungeon. Pretty cool! Or, rather, it was, until I bit it during our escape. Whoops!
Looking forward to more!
Illusion of Gaia (SNES): I played this one the longest! It starts off like a normal RPG, which slightly taller sprites than the usual squashed ones. You gotta save a princess, you have school chums, blah blah... and then you get to the first dungeon. It's a rather simplistic action-adventure game from there. Instead of leveling up, you power up by clearing the entire room of enemies, at which point they'll drop a strength or defense boost.
As a rather cool touch, when you enter the dark world save area and choose not to continue after saving, the game continues on, playing a tune that manages to be both haunting and relaxing. It makes me think of the old Resident Evil save room tracks from their various entries..
Sweet Home (NES): To start it all off, I gave the English translation of this Resident Evil forefather a go. The controls are a bit wonky (it could certainly benefit from more buttons), but it's certainly dark and creepy. I would have loved this as a kid (and been completely freaked out!).
Minor Entries: Black Desert Online (PC), Sword of Chaos (iOS).
Battletoads in Battlemaniacs: The graphics are great, but the game is a little difficult. I lost a few lives from running off edges or not pulling off jumps, and I'm not sure if that's a result of slidly controls or my RetroBit controller itself being a little sensitive.
Still, fantastic graphics and a classic SNES sound! I played up to the second level--surprise, a vertical shaft!--and then called it quits, moving on to Illusion of Gaia.
Link to the Past, The (SNES): You know, I don't think I've ever seriously played this game to any real extent. That changed today! I deleted the saves of poor David and Levi (the previous owners of the copy, I assume), where David had not one but TWO completed saves, saved right before the boss. At some point, he loved this game! I wonder where he is now? Was Levi his little brother, or a friend?
Anyway, it starts off rather intense for a Zelda game. Well, for an early one, at least: you gotta remember, my only significant Zelda experiences are LoZ, The Adventure of Link, Link's Awakening, and the later Orcales games! It's a dark and storm night, and some guy (your caretaker? Dad?) marches off with his sword and shield.
You find him in the dungeon, and from there you do some typical Link stuff with swords and boomerangs, till you rescue the princess and escape from the dungeon. Pretty cool! Or, rather, it was, until I bit it during our escape. Whoops!
Looking forward to more!
Illusion of Gaia (SNES): I played this one the longest! It starts off like a normal RPG, which slightly taller sprites than the usual squashed ones. You gotta save a princess, you have school chums, blah blah... and then you get to the first dungeon. It's a rather simplistic action-adventure game from there. Instead of leveling up, you power up by clearing the entire room of enemies, at which point they'll drop a strength or defense boost.
As a rather cool touch, when you enter the dark world save area and choose not to continue after saving, the game continues on, playing a tune that manages to be both haunting and relaxing. It makes me think of the old Resident Evil save room tracks from their various entries..
Sweet Home (NES): To start it all off, I gave the English translation of this Resident Evil forefather a go. The controls are a bit wonky (it could certainly benefit from more buttons), but it's certainly dark and creepy. I would have loved this as a kid (and been completely freaked out!).
Minor Entries: Black Desert Online (PC), Sword of Chaos (iOS).
Tuesday, May 8, 2018
May 8, 2018
Gargoyle's Quest II (NES): In continuing with my occasional bits of old-school gaming in the basement, I gave it a quick whirl. Looks a little more RPG-ish than the first game in the series, starting you off in a town itself!
It seems like a prequel, since Firebrand is being bossed around, called a "trainee", and sent to a training center. It plays much like I recall the GameBoy one playing, which is quite nice!
After going into the Training Center, all hell broke loose... and I stopped to nap. <_ p="">
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning (PC): I spent something like an hour scouring old saves trying to find the latest save I had that was prior to using Skill Books. Y'see, if your skills get too high, you can't go to low-level trainers for points. And if you can't get those low level trainer points, you can never max things out.
In the end, I went from a 70-hour save to a 35-hour save. Eek. This is why it took me almost two months to return to the game (which I was highly enjoying): I was so disheartened by my dumb mistake (I KNEW better, but forgot!) that I couldn't bring myself to replay so much then, but I'm better now.
Fist Puncher (PC): Tarina bought me this game years ago on Good Old Games. I made a lot of progress, but unfortunately I lost my save! (This was well before GOG Galaxy, let alone their cloud saves.) Since it was a buck on Steam, I picked it back up and gave it a quick whirl...
Sword of Chaos (iOS): In addition to the usual dailies, I asked around if anyone wanted to marry solely for the stats... no luck, alas!
Minor Entries: Black Desert Online (PC).
It seems like a prequel, since Firebrand is being bossed around, called a "trainee", and sent to a training center. It plays much like I recall the GameBoy one playing, which is quite nice!
After going into the Training Center, all hell broke loose... and I stopped to nap. <_ p="">
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning (PC): I spent something like an hour scouring old saves trying to find the latest save I had that was prior to using Skill Books. Y'see, if your skills get too high, you can't go to low-level trainers for points. And if you can't get those low level trainer points, you can never max things out.
In the end, I went from a 70-hour save to a 35-hour save. Eek. This is why it took me almost two months to return to the game (which I was highly enjoying): I was so disheartened by my dumb mistake (I KNEW better, but forgot!) that I couldn't bring myself to replay so much then, but I'm better now.
Fist Puncher (PC): Tarina bought me this game years ago on Good Old Games. I made a lot of progress, but unfortunately I lost my save! (This was well before GOG Galaxy, let alone their cloud saves.) Since it was a buck on Steam, I picked it back up and gave it a quick whirl...
Sword of Chaos (iOS): In addition to the usual dailies, I asked around if anyone wanted to marry solely for the stats... no luck, alas!
Minor Entries: Black Desert Online (PC).
Monday, May 7, 2018
May 7, 2018
Demon's Crest (SNES): Just a brief go on my RetroDuo. The game froze at the tutorial boss...
But I really do need to play this, and the game before it. I ADORED Gargoyle's Quest as a kid, but never got around to the two sequels.
Young Merlin (SNES): Another old favorite. I actually bought this one cheap from Walmart way back when they had shelves with little bins of old SNES (and, I believe, NES and Genesis) games. I remember it being fairly fun and unique, and somewhat Zelda-y.
It is indeed somewhat Zelda-y, but with a very early-90s PC vibe. There are bits of voicework, which is pretty cool, and the animations (such as when Merlin gets tossed across the screen) are smooth, detailed, and cartoony. There's an old password system, which stinks, and does make me wish I was playing on my Retron 5 instead of my RetroDuo, but I don't want to leave my Retron 5 in the basement for several practical reasons.
Somewhere I have an old gaming magazine with early screenshots of this game. The scene is very clearly the first scene in the game, but the graphics are much more serious and muted.
Minor Entries: Black Desert Online (PC), Sword of Chaos (iOS).
But I really do need to play this, and the game before it. I ADORED Gargoyle's Quest as a kid, but never got around to the two sequels.
Young Merlin (SNES): Another old favorite. I actually bought this one cheap from Walmart way back when they had shelves with little bins of old SNES (and, I believe, NES and Genesis) games. I remember it being fairly fun and unique, and somewhat Zelda-y.
It is indeed somewhat Zelda-y, but with a very early-90s PC vibe. There are bits of voicework, which is pretty cool, and the animations (such as when Merlin gets tossed across the screen) are smooth, detailed, and cartoony. There's an old password system, which stinks, and does make me wish I was playing on my Retron 5 instead of my RetroDuo, but I don't want to leave my Retron 5 in the basement for several practical reasons.
Somewhere I have an old gaming magazine with early screenshots of this game. The scene is very clearly the first scene in the game, but the graphics are much more serious and muted.
Minor Entries: Black Desert Online (PC), Sword of Chaos (iOS).
Sunday, May 6, 2018
May 6, 2018
Busy week/weekend over (yay), new work week starting tomorrow (boo), parents gone away again (boo), but time for gaming (yay)!
Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World (SNES): Five games, one entry! I played this a bit in the basement, having finally decided to set up the old RetroDuo (Famicom Limited Edition!) down there. I think I gave everything a whirl except for Super Mario Bros., and most of them I only played for a few minutes.
Surprisingly, the clearance RetroBit controllers from Micro Center are pretty good, and I'm pretty comfortable with the one I had been using.
Minor Entries: Black Desert Online (PC), Sword of Chaos (iOS).
Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World (SNES): Five games, one entry! I played this a bit in the basement, having finally decided to set up the old RetroDuo (Famicom Limited Edition!) down there. I think I gave everything a whirl except for Super Mario Bros., and most of them I only played for a few minutes.
Surprisingly, the clearance RetroBit controllers from Micro Center are pretty good, and I'm pretty comfortable with the one I had been using.
Minor Entries: Black Desert Online (PC), Sword of Chaos (iOS).
Saturday, May 5, 2018
May 1 - May 5, 2018
Busy, busy times! Most of this week was spent cleaning and hitting up school events. So, with that, very little was done! I did spend some time chatting with a buddy on Sword of Chaos, but that's about the extent of my serious gaming. Yikes!
Minor Entries: Black Desert Online (PC), Sword of Chaos (iOS)
Minor Entries: Black Desert Online (PC), Sword of Chaos (iOS)
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